Art Fun Cheap

By Remi Engels, guest blogger

Once you have hatched the primary value masses of your portrait it is time to blend and “remove” the lights with a kneaded eraser.

A stump is a cylindrical tool tapered at the ends and generally made of rolled paper. Stumping then is to smear or blend your hatchings with a stump. The point of blending is to produce gradations and halftones and to give certain tone regions a softer look.

Blending can be done in different ways. You can utilize tissue paper or even your fingers or both. When utilizing your fingers be sure to wipe off any oily deposits with a tissue.

Stumping must be done in a painterly manner. You should literally cut out the form while keeping in mind both the structural anatomy and the changes of the planes. As you sketch name each anatomical element. This is particularly advisable when you work on complex structures such as the nose and the eyes.

In a analogous fashion you can utilize your kneaded eraser to “take out” graphite to lighten particularareas. Again, go about it in a sculpturally way. Make use of the kneaded eraser as if it is a brush.

Now and again you may want to use the concept of “closure”. Your mind has a predispostion to fill in the holes in your observations. That is, the mind has a need for “closure”. You can make judicious use of this tendency and leave particular parts of your portrait unfinished. It adds interest to your sketch as the viewer’s mind will involuntarily complete the portrait for you.

After you have done lots of blending and taking out graphite with your kneaded eraser it is time to further articulate the forms and planes by cross-hatching with a harder pencil (e.g., a 2H pencil). But, there are a number of things to look out for at this time.

Care must be taken not to make the light side of the skull too darkly or it will look like a contusion. The smile-line is also difficult. If you over-stress it you will end up with a scoff. It is best to under-stress it and let the viewer’s sense of closure finalize it for you.

An important consideration must be made when drawing from a photograph. A photo should only be reference material. That means aesthetic decisions must be made. For example:

- What type of emotional reaction are you after? When people see your portrait what manner of initial gut response do you want them to have to your drawing. Good technique is absolutely necessary. But it will count for very little if it is frosty cold and dry.

- Make choices. You should not draw every tiny facet but only the essential ones. Use your artistic judgement to make these choices.

A hard 4H pencil can be used to make the already dark areas even darker with cross-hatching.

Careful consideration must be given to the edges of the shapes in your sketch. For example, as a form turns away from the light source its tone gradually gets darker and takes on a soft edge.

A cast shadow has a hard edge. The form of a cast shadow is determined by the shape of the object throwing the shadow and the form upon which it is being thrown.

Finish the sketch by paying attention to the essential details. You also want to further tweak and balance the constructed values. Your sketch must always read as a cohesive whole even though you decide not to bring it to a complete finish.

These few easy guidelines will set you on the accurate path. Apply them correctly and soon your pencil portraits will show much improvement.

Do you want to learn the secrets of pencil portrait sketching? Download my brand new free pencil portrait drawing course here: pencil portrait tutorial.

Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and practiced sketching teacher. See his work at graphite pencil portraits by Remi.